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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25854487">i'm just going to the store</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/monotones/pseuds/monotones'>monotones</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Retail, M/M, Modern AU, kinda??, still takes place in konoha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:21:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,618</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25854487</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/monotones/pseuds/monotones</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The luxurious 24/7 Konoha Mini Mart. Being a shinobi isn’t exactly a 9-to-5 job, and who knows what and when they’ll need something at a moment's notice. That’s where Kakashi came up with the idea to open up a store that never closes, filled with essentials and non-essentials alike, to be there when needed</p><p>or</p><p>Team 7 reunite to work the overnight shift at Konoha's 24/7 connivence store.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>‘At least I’m not committing war crimes,’ he thinks as he drops his bike into a bush.</p><p>He pats his pants and his chest, making sure he has his phone, keys and name tag on him as he enters the shop for his overnight shift. The luxurious 24/7 Konoha Mini Mart. Being a shinobi isn’t exactly a 9-to-5 job, and who knows what and when they’ll need something at a moment's notice. That’s where Kakashi came up with the idea to open up a store that never closes, filled with essentials and non-essentials alike, to be there when needed (and to spend more time with his eight dog summons since owning this joint barred him from taking any more active missions, but hey, who could blame him after all the shit the system put him through.) </p><p>“Naruto,” a familiar pink head demands, “how many times are we gonna have to tell you to buy a lock for your bike and stop beating that bush dead”</p><p>“Do you have bike lock money, Sakura?” Naruto shoots back, no bite in his voice, “then leave me alone.”</p><p>His life flashes before his eyes as he’s pulled forward by the collar, pleasantly only met with a noogie this time. Shifts run by Sakura are his favorite, she’s just as chatty as him and easy to rile up, much to his amusement, making his nine hour shift feel like nothing. She became his best friend rather quickly, both of them choosing to be clerks rather than ninjas, to wear a nametag rather than a forehead protector. She’s the first person his age that understands how corrupt the system is, how Konoha doesn’t care for them, doesn’t care if they die on a mission- so why should they risk their lives in the first place? </p><p>Konoha has done nothing for him, leaving him alone in an apartment before he even knew how to read. Giving him a measly monthly allowance, telling him nothing about his dead parents, offering no reason for why the adults look at him with contempt and treat him like an enemy. </p><p>Some clerks even refused him service, not caring if the child starves. With so much resentment in him, there was no way he would be able to put his life on the line for the safety of the people- the same people who wouldn’t meet his eye and sneered at him with disgust when he was only 5 years old, probably even before then too.</p><p>He enrolled in the Ninja Academy though, since he had no other choice. There he was invisible, unnoticed by the teachers and the kids, save for a teacher named Iruka who took his time with Naruto, with individual training and treating him to ramen afterwards, the first and only person to treat him with kindness until he was put on his genin team with Sakura (both bullied and shunned for different reasons, but never connecting with one another as kids.) But one person was not enough to motivate him to fight for everyone.</p><p>Thanks to Iruka’s tutoring he passed his exam, thus was promoted to a genin. And he was shitting himself. Thankfully their team dissolved pretty quickly, only completing three D-ranked missions before one of them, the Uchiha kid, went rogue, leaving just him and Sakura under Kakashi’s leadership. </p><p>Kakashi’s heart wasn’t in it- that much was obvious, and when he came up with the idea to open Konoha’s first 24/7 shop, he was absolved of leadership of team seven, leaving them alone. They both followed him, refusing the option to train under someone else, becoming his first employees and leaving their headbands behind. </p><p>Sakura didn’t have a reason built on years of distrust in the village’s system to leave, she was just horrified at the lack of care the village put towards an orphaned 12 year old leaving the village, because obviously he was seen as replaceable, and Naruto wasn’t joining a new team, so why should she? She has always been big on team loyalty, even if they only had three missions- she’s happier if the fragmented team seven stay together than joining a new team anyway. </p><p>That was years ago, they’re both adults now, though age seems to mean little when it comes to sending people to kill and be killed. They’ve never once regretted their decision to leave the ninja life behind, Sakura learning about Naruto’s past, Naruto learning the truth of who and what he is from Kakashi, and Kakashi ruminating on the horrors of his life to the both of them only cemented they’re better off here. It’s not a revolution, because God knows they’d be killed if they even uttered those words aloud, but it’s enough to start feeling peace with their own autonomy. </p><p>When Naruto finally breaks out of Sakura’s grip, he slips into the breakroom which is more like a big closet. Empty besides a table with 3 chairs, and a coffee machine Kakashi’s father must have owned. It spits out liquid that’s more comparable to tar than coffee, but he drinks it anyway, never being one to turn down free anything.<br/>

</p>
<p>Iruka, strangely close friends with Kakashi, came to visit once and voiced concerns over this, stating that it looks to do “more harm to your kidneys than a bottle of hard whiskey would,” but it’s not like Kurama would let anything actually happen.</p><p>Dropping his bag on one of the chairs and grabbing his cup of tar, he rejoins his friend who is counting the register down before logging it back in for the night. Knowing from experience not to bother her while counting, he walks around the store making note of what he needs to grab from the stockroom to refill the aisles. He hears the bell ring, signaling a customer’s arrival. Then Sakura gasps. Which, okay, sometimes customers enter in various states of bloodied, but she always keeps her cool, so he makes a break for the front to make sure everything’s okay.</p><p>He stops dead in his tracks upon being met with fluffy black hair, shaped to resemble a duck butt.</p><p>“Sasuke?” the two gasp out at the same time. </p><p>He’d almost look unbothered if it weren’t for the slight flush overtaking his body.</p><p>“Um,” black eyes flickering anywhere but to their faces, as blue eyes make their way behind the counter. </p><p>Silence stretches out after that syllable for what feels like minutes. </p><p>Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he grits out:</p><p>“Are you guys hiring?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hii this is an idea that i thought about in the shower and it amused me. i work overnights (sometimes) at a 24 hour store and hate it. who would have thought that one day i'd be like hm. good au idea.<br/>this probably wont be long, and i don't have another chapter written out yet but this ending seemed more fitting to be a chapter end than a one shot? i hope to continue it soon!<br/>ik the timeline and plot are silly but it's A what can u do moment... in this story sasuke defected before the chunin exams so the invasion arc never happened. i haven't really thought about who the hokage is but it can be kurenai because i think she's cool and the 3rd hokage was too old to still be it for this story.<br/>please comment if you have any suggestions or ways to make the story better!!! ive never shared my writing online (at least non-anonymously) so feedback would be extremely appreciated.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kakashi was all too pleased to have his former student join the crew, not even questioning where he was or why’d he come back.</p><p>And that’s how Sasuke Uchiha, missing-nin for the last eight years, is getting trained on how to work overnight by his former teammate and ex-budding rival, Naruto Uzamaki. </p><p>Naruto can’t stand feeling uncomfortable. It chews at him, makes his skin itch, he feels like he’s vibrating. </p><p>Sasuke is here, facing shelves next to him, after so long. And they’re not talking. Sasuke doesn’t entertain small talk besides one word answers. Naruto’s tongue feels too heavy for his mouth.</p><p>Can he ask what he did for eight years? Did he kill his brother, after all when they first introduced themselves he did say that’s his life goal.<br/>
</p><p>“Make sure you’re paying attention to the best by dates as you move items to the front,” is what he says instead. </p><p>It doesn’t take the edge off.</p><p>“Hm,” is all the response he gets back.</p><p>Sakura has the night off, so it’s just them. Well, Pakkun is here too, since Kakashi is reluctant to leave the store in Naruto’s hands no matter how much whining about how picking favorites isn’t fair and that customers like him more than they like Sakura anyway and they’ve both started working the same day so they’re both equally equipped. But that’s besides the point.<br/>
</p><p>He can’t take this. When he works with his best friend, they talk and play and fight the entire night and the hours fly by. Right now, the seconds feel like hours. And for some reason he can’t stop looking at Sasuke’s fingers as he turns labels to face the aisle.</p><p>He throws the ball into Sasuke’s court</p><p>“Do you have any questions?”</p><p>Black eyes meet his, inquisitive. </p><p>“How long have you worked here?”</p><p>Not what he was expecting at all, he blinks back surprise. Lifting an arm to scratch the back of his neck he answers</p><p>“Um, about eight years ago. Only been on overnight for about five though”</p><p>“Oh, so the shop opened right after I left?”</p><p>Now Naruto is unable to mask surprise, not expecting Sasuke to mention leaving so explicitly. </p><p>“Yeah, basically.” </p><p>“How has the village been?”</p><p>“It’s been,” the blonde takes a pause- he hasn’t been really paying attention to the politics of the village. But he hasn’t heard of any pending war, so- “fine. Peaceful.”</p><p>Naruto takes this as permission to start asking Sasuke questions about his missing years.</p><p>“How about you? How have you been?” Sasuke asks before he has the chance to ask his own question.</p><p>Blue meets black.</p><p>“Great. Rebuilding happiness. You know you might have been onto something when you left, the shinobi system is kinda bullshit.”</p><p>Black eyes crinkling slightly is the only evidence of amusement on the boy’s face. And then the bell rings signaling a customer’s entrance.</p><p>Naruto makes his way to the counter and Sasuke stays on the floor- it’s a system they wordlessly built when the silence was pulling Naruto apart at the seams, they take turns on who goes to the register. </p><p>He silently thanks the gods for the moment alone, the short exchange leaving him overwhelmed for a reason unfathomable to him. </p><p>He knew Sasuke wouldn’t forget being in team 7 nor his teammates, but he didn’t bring it up and looked so horrified when Kakashi made a joke about their bonds being impenetrable and something about how fate is pulling them all together or something, repeating a monologue from that book his nose is always in probably. </p><p>But the interest from Sasuke in both the village and Naruto’s life was not something he expected. He feels the uncomfortableness and the anxiety that were eating away at him earlier dissipate, maybe getting along with Sasuke will be as easy as it was when they were 12- they’d butt heads and argue because they were comfortable enough with the other to do so. It would be nice to have that back. They didn’t spend much time together but he remembers feeling like Sasuke was the only person in Konoha who had the potential to fully understand the complexities that came with being a jinchuuriki, but then he left and Naruto got over it.</p><p>The faint sound of the customer’s voice snaps him out of his head.</p><p>“Could I open this box to check the size of this bandage?”</p><p>“You could literally kill someone in front of me and I would not care,” Sasuke answers, deadpan and bored.</p><p>From across the store, Naruto snorts.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>im not too happy with this chapter u_u but i was having problems thinking about how to continue the story and had to get this out to properly feel it out. i also have a goal of updating once a week and want to hold myself to that.<br/>i hope you all enjoy despite that!<br/>also i raised the rating to T for no reason particularly lmao<br/>comments and kudos are appreciated</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One thing is obvious. Sasuke is not a people person. He does not greet customers with a smile, nor does he push products, and no amount of threats from Sakura will change his ways. </p><p>Naruto would be vaguely worried Kakashi might fire Sasuke, if not for Kakashi being just as weird as Sasuke, albeit a bit more pleasant. While a stranger interacting with Sasuke leaves with a bad taste in their mouth; with Kakashi they’ll leave with a smile but thoughts of ‘what the fuck just happened’ trailing soon after the encounter.</p><p>So, to prevent Sasuke from further pissing her off, Sakura makes a plan that when the three of them work together: she stays behind the counter, Sasuke shoulders the cleaning and Naruto greets and engages with customers while also helping clean. </p><p>Naruto doesn’t really care, in fact he’s excited by the prospect of spending more time by Sasuke’s side, but because he likes getting under her skin, he groans.</p><p>“You’re just doing this so you can laze off and read while running a shift. You’re just like Kakashi,” eyeing the magazine she’s flipping through- seemingly completely tuning him out.</p><p>“Don’t care what you say. I’m the boss,” she answers, never lifting her eyes off the magazine.</p><p>Inhaling deeply, Naruto lets out a drawn out whine of “you’re the wooorrssst.” Beside him, he hears a quiet laugh. He squints his eyes at the man next to him, flushing under his attention.</p><p>With a huff of annoyance, Naruto turns from the counter and gets to work. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>With the sound of the lights humming above them, Sasuke sweeps the floor while Naruto dusts the shelves. With no trace of the anxiety Naruto held on their first night together, he lets himself talk about anything and everything, hardly perturbed by Sasuke’s lack of responses. Maybe it’s not as fun as making Sakura mad when they work side by side, but he’s enjoying the company.</p><p>“You know,” Naruto says, like he’s sharing a dark secret “I have 3 pet toads at home. And if I could I would have way more pets”</p><p>He looks at Sasuke, who’s looking at him with a ghost of a smile on his face. Readjusting his grip on the broom, Sasuke replies:</p><p>"I’ve seen your wallet. Your pet of choice does not surprise me.” </p><p>“Oi! I’ll have you know frogs and toads are extremely different species. Where frogs are smooth and slim-”</p><p>“I have a pet snake. His name is Aoda,” he interjects, not letting Naruto complete his rant. </p><p>Naruto tucks away the information in the ‘About Sasuke’ folder in his brain.</p><p>“Well, I would love to meet Aoda”</p><p>And when Sasuke smiles back at him, his heart stutters, and he inwardly groans. He realizes, then and there, he has a crush on Sasuke, like a late-stage crush. To the highest degree. And Sasuke has only been working here for two weeks. </p><p>When Sakura calls out to them, letting them know a bleeding customer has entered the store, he outwardly groans at the prospect of cleaning up blood off the floor. Two horrible occurrences happening five second apart. What a cruel world.</p><p>Sasuke bumps his shoulder with a smirk as he makes his way into the stockroom to get the mop, and Naruto brightens. Maybe the first thing wasn’t too awful. </p><p>He makes his way to help the bleeding man, biting back the smile that’s threatening to break through.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>With the sun rising, and the clock striking 8am, their shifts are over for the night. Naruto is in the break room gathering his stuff, halfway listening to Sakura and Kakashi talk about what happened over the night and if there’s anything Kakashi needs to worry about, when a voice from the door interrupts his eavesdropping. </p><p>“Hey.”</p><p>Naruto looks up to see Sasuke standing there. </p><p>“Do you really want to meet Aoda?”</p><p>“Right now?” Naruto balks, because in his head Sasuke just asked him out on a date.</p><p>“We can get breakfast first? I’m sure places to eat are opened by now,” Sasuke answers, scratching the back of his neck, starting to look a little uncomfortable because of the disbelief on Naruto’s face. And yeah. He's definitely asking Naruto out on a date.</p><p>The blond grinds, so wide his cheeks start to ache. He watches as the tightness slips out of Sasuke’s shoulders.</p><p>“Like I said earlier: I would love to meet Aoda. But first, waffles. I know a place.”</p><p>He feels a warmth wrap around his body when the smile on Sasuke’s face mirrors his own. </p><p> </p><p>After exchanging greetings with Kakashi, and wishing Sakura and her Ino who came to walk her back to their home a good day, Naruto drags Sasuke to a diner nearby that serves his favorite waffles. Sasuke grumbles a bit, declaring that he doesn’t like sweets, but finishes his plate anyway.</p><p>Then, it’s Naruto’s turn to be dragged as Sasuke takes him to his apartment. He feels like he’s floating while watching Sasuke handle Aoda, listening to the snake facts the other spews off in amazement. Feeling sparks through his veins as their fingers brush when Sasuke hands off Aoda to him leaves Naruto feeling dizzy. He looks at the blueish black snake in his hands.<br/>
</p>
<p>“He likes you,” Sasuke says, fond smile playing at his lips.</p><p>Naruto can’t help himself as he leans up into the other’s space, their mouths meeting in a sweet sticky syrupy peck.</p><p>Aoda wraps himself around Naruto’s tanned wrist. Sasuke grips his upper arm, smiles against his lips and kisses him again.</p><p>As far as first dates go, this was a success in every way.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sorry if relationship development seems rushed. mostly trying to emphasize that BOTH sasuke and naruto are weirdos. match made in heaven.&lt;3</p><p>also i know there's like . no implication at all that this is technically set in canonverse in this chapter. that Will come back! I may or may not raise the chapters to 5 instead of 4, we'll see</p><p>me after one line implying sakura and ino are dating: Lesbian rights! </p><p>also did u know the title of this fic is from carly rae jepsen's song 'store'. has nothing to do with the story i just couldnt think of a title. almost felt bad using it since it's a breakup song tho </p><p>comments and kudos are appreciated. thank you for reading!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Naruto is late.</p>
<p>It’s just him and Sakura tonight and he’s been working there since he was 12 so it’s not a big deal that he’s late, except Sakura saw him leave his bike behind this morning to go out with Sasuke so it absolutely is a big deal. He’s late because he forgot he left his bike in the bush. So now he’s sprinting through the streets of Konoha trying to lessen the heckling he’s going to hear from Sakura.</p>
<p>Bursting through the door, he’s immediately greeted by Sakura’s smug face and realizes his efforts were fruitless. Bitterly, he thinks he should have taken his sweet time getting here tonight, he knew there was no avoiding this harassment. </p>
<p>Awkwardly, Naruto bows his head slightly.</p>
<p>“Sorry I’m late Sakura”</p>
<p>Her shit-eating grin grows and she waves a dismissive hand. “You know I could care less. Now tell me what I want to know.” </p>
<p>“Can I put my stuff in the breakroom and catch my breath first. I kinda ran here,” he whines, knowing there’s no way he’s getting out of this. </p>
<p>It’s not like he really minds though, Sakura is his best friend and he actually can’t wait to unload everything onto her. He’s just feeling a little shy, strange for him, he admits- but he guesses it just attests to how intense his crush on Sasuke is.</p>
<p>Sakura’s face morphs into vague disgust as she actually takes him in and realizes how sweaty and out of breath he is and gets out of his way, but not without smacking his ass as he makes his way to the breakroom.</p>
<p>His vague embarrassment turns into burning humiliation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Heh. So, he let you touch his snake,” Sakura teases, pink eyebrows waggling.</p>
<p>“I will literally kill you and then myself,” Naruto gasps out, exasperated. With the way this conversation had been going, he’d not be surprised if he ends up bald from all the stress Sakura is putting him through. “We had waffles. I went to his apartment. I met his pet. We talked. That’s all that happened.”</p>
<p>“That’s all that happened…” she trails off, green eyes squinting at him.</p>
<p>He does not want to tell her about the kiss. </p>
<p>Okay. He wants to tell her about the kiss. “Eh. We kissed too,” he scratches at his warming cheek, averting his eyes.</p>
<p>The response he gets back is a screech and a slap over the head.</p>
<p>“You were planning to just keep that from me? I thought we were friends. What the fuck, Naruto.”</p>
<p>“It’s embarrassing, Sakura,” he cries out, rubbing where he was slapped. “Plus you never told me about you and Ino.”</p>
<p>“That’s because everyone knew. I talked about her and our dates all the time, I wasn’t withholding anything. Now stop trying to change the subject- about the kiss”</p>
<p>“I was holding Aoda and he was looking at me and his eyes were so soft as he looked at me. I couldn’t not kiss him,” he pouts for emphasis. She pinches his cheeks. </p>
<p>“Are you guys like… together now?” </p>
<p>Naruto pauses at that. They talked and talked and shared a few more kisses, but neither got around to asking ‘what are we?’</p>
<p>He shrugs, opting to use the opportunity to mess with Sakura and regain footing. “Our bond transcends language and cannot be described in words.”</p>
<p>“What the fuck. Are you implying you eloped?”</p>
<p>The bell chimes, signaling a customer’s entry into the store. With a smirk on his lips, he turns his back to Sakura and goes to help the customer, who’s carrying a wounded teammate.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>With another shift over, and his backpack on his back, Naruto goes to bid his farewells to Sakura and Kakashi, who both look too smug for his liking, so instead he squints his eyes and gives a small wave, suspicious of what's making them act like that.</p>
<p>Pushing the door open with his shoulder, not wanting to take his eyes off them, he bumps right into a familiar body. Sasuke.</p>
<p>“Hey. How was work,” Sasuke asks with his arms steadying Naruto, like it’s the most natural thing in the world that he’s here, at their shared place of work, picking him up.</p>
<p>“You know,” Naruto shrugs, because the other boy does know. “What are you doing here? Did you need to talk to Kakashi? You’re not quitting just because we kissed are you?”</p>
<p>	The mini-interrogation startles a laugh out of Sasuke. “Oh so now a man can’t retrieve his boyfriend after work?”</p>
<p>	Naruto blushes despite himself, and turns his glance through the windows of the store, seeing just what he expected- Sakura and Kakashi staring at the pair with no shame. </p>
<p>	“You can, but what do you wanna do?”</p>
<p>	“Not gonna invite me to meet your toads after all the bonding you and Aoda did yesterday? That’s cold.”</p>
<p>	Naruto’s blush deepens, cursing himself for taking so long to catch up.</p>
<p>	“You can come over whenever you please. But if they don’t like you, I’m leaving you. My kids come first”</p>
<p>	“Hm,” is all Sasuke says, never being one to back down from a challenge.</p>
<p>	“Oh, one other thing. I can’t leave my bike here again. Bad for the aesthetics of the store. Bad for me because I kinda need my bike. You mind riding on the pegs while we go to my place?”</p>
<p>	“You want me to.. Ride on your pegs,” Sasuke asks- deadpanned and unimpressed. Naruto grins in response to that.</p>
<p>	“...Yes.”</p>
<p>	“Okay.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Gamakichi, Gamabunta and Gamatatsu all croak happily when Naruto introduces them to Sasuke’s fresh face.</p>
<p>	“Looks like you passed the test. We can stay together now,” Naruto all but shouts, bumping his shoulder into Sasuke’s.</p>
<p>	“Thank gods,” Sasuke replies, making his way to the couch and plopping on it. Naruto feels warm looking at how at home Sasuke is in his place, and goes to sit next to him, immediately placing his legs onto Sasuke’s lap. Sasuke grabs hold onto his ankle and taps his finger on the skin.</p>
<p>	It’s nice. It feels like they’ve been doing this forever with how comfortably they fit against each other. Not like they only shared their first kiss 24 hours ago, or like Sasuke wasn’t gone for 8 years. Presumably to kill his brother. </p>
<p>	Oh yeah, Sasuke might have killed his brother. It’s not like Naruto has anything against people who have murdered, he lives in Konoha, thank you very much. He adores Kakashi who’s probably killed more people than Naruto has met in his lifetime, he’d be a hypocrite to judge Sasuke. </p>
<p>	“Sooo,” Naruto draws out, Sasuke looking towards him, eyes narrowing at the awkward inflection, “Did you ever kill your brother?”</p>
<p>	“You remembered that?”</p>
<p>	“I find it hard to forget a 12 year old who says his life goal is homicide.”</p>
<p>	Sasuke snorts. “He was sick when I finally tracked him down, when I was about 16. Only had a few years left to live apparently. I wouldn’t get any satisfaction taking him down in that condition- so I decided to just stick with him. Annoy him. Get under his skin, be the annoying younger sibling I never was able to be because he was always pushing me away before killing our entire clan when we were kids.”</p>
<p>	“Happy with your decision?”</p>
<p>	“Yeah. It truly felt like vengeance. He tried so hard to mask all his emotions, but I would see his jaw clench in annoyance and it’d all be worth it.” </p>
<p>	Sasuke has a ghost of a smile on his face, and Naruto wiggles his foot that’s caught in his grip.</p>
<p>	“Did you come right back to Konoha when he died?”</p>
<p>	“Nah. He died when I was 19, but before dying he told me about how Konoha made him do it, and that he doesn’t forgive himself and I shouldn’t forgive him, which I don’t, but it pissed me off. I talked to some shady people trying to get the elders killed but everything fell through. Not gonna lie, I still wanna kill them. I talked to Kakashi and he’s cool with it and would vouch for me. We’re thinking poison is the best way to do it-”</p>
<p>	Naruto stopped being under constant surveillance when he was 15 and the village realized he had everything under control with Kurama, as well as his lack of combat training outside of a few sparring sessions, but having this conversation in his living room is stressing him out. His eyes flit to all the windows, making sure they’re all clear.</p>
<p>	“Is that the only reason you came back,” Naruto frowns a little at the prospect of Sasuke only living for revenge once again.</p>
<p>	Sasuke is pulling at his ear, a nervous habit of his Naruto had picked up on in the few weeks he’s been back. </p>
<p>	“Well. No. Before Itachi died, he warned me against falling into solitude again, which I scoffed at of course. But being with him I realized I really did like having company around. In one of the failed infiltration attempts someone told me about the little shop my ex-team was working at, and I thought about you.”</p>
<p>	“Me?”</p>
<p>	“You. You who also knew the pain of solitude at the hands of the state. I figured this must be your way of defecting without actually leaving.” </p>
<p>	Naruto pats the seal on his stomach. “With this bad boy inside of me I wouldn’t be able to step foot out of those gates without being hounded. This was, in fact, our way of defecting.”</p>
<p>	“So. I decided to come back here. To work with you guys, didn’t expect to start dating a coworker so quickly though,” Sasuke jokes. </p>
<p>Naruto kicks his feet at him. “I’m happy you came back.” </p>
<p>That gets him one of Sasuke’s soft eye smiles, so he sits up slightly and pulls Sasuke into his chest, so the other man is on top of them- their faces inches apart. He leans up again but this time to press their lips together, in a soft but firm kiss. </p>
<p>Sasuke’s hands reach up to cradle Naruto’s face as he deepens the kiss, and Naruto smiles against him before parting his lips to allow access.</p>
<p>	Naruto is happy, here with Sasuke in his arms and his tongue down his throat, a concept that once seemed so far from him.</p>
<p>	Living in Konoha would never be ideal for either of them, but neither would a life of running away. With Kakashi, Sakura and each other on the Mini Mart shifts, they can build peace, almost ignoring all the atrocities the village has and will commit that they were once so powerless to. It’s fucked up, but it works. At least they’ll be left alone, which is all they could ask for. </p>
<p>When Naruto was 12 and began working at a convenience store to get out of being a ninja, he never thought he’d learn so much about love, friends and family, but he did. It’s almost worth being paid minimum wage.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sorry for the late chapter but it's like. twice as long as all my other chapters SO! anyway<br/>thank you for reading my first non-anonymously published fic ^_^. it was fun and silly to write. i hope it was fun to read. i dont know how to end things u_u<br/>comment and kudos appreciated. thank you again!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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